With Eichenberg stepping in at center, who will temporarily replace him at right guard?
With Liam Eichenberg handling the majority of first-team center snaps, the question now becomes who will temporarily replace him at right guard.
The options are clear: Jack Driscoll and Lester Cotton, both of whom split time at the open spot \Monday. And while some would want to play up the position battle, offensive line coach Butch Barry wants everyone to approach practice like the starter.
“Coach Butch has got us all really competing at a high level,” Cotton said. “Nobody’s looking at who’s starting, who’s behind the starter, who’s bench, who’s getting cut — we’re all just on the same page. We’re all just focused on being better as an offensive line.”
An eight-game starter for the Dolphins in 2023, Cotton played a total of 616 snaps at left guard and right guard. The five-year veteran allowed 20 pressures, including three sacks, according to Pro Football Focus.
Driscoll, who the Dolphins signed in the 2024 offseason, played a total of 165 snaps at both tackle and right guard last year for the Philadelphia Eagles. In his 35 snaps at right guard, he let up one pressure.
Though Driscoll is known for his versatility across the offensive line, the Auburn product found himself starting at a new position Friday against the Atlanta Falcons: center.
“I never played center until I got down here,” Driscoll said.
Driscoll, however, was undeterred. During his time in Philly, where he played backup to future Hall of Famer Lane Johnson among many others, Driscoll learned to embrace the unexpected.
“For Philly, I kind of embraced that role where wherever there was an opening, I was going to go out there,” Driscoll said. “It might not be my primary position but whatever the team needs. That was something that got me on the field in Philly because we had a really deep room and there’s a really good room here as well. So whatever the role is, just embrace it.”
Despite the injuries, coach Mike McDaniel has been impressed with the offensive line as a whole.
“I don’t know how many NFL offensive linemen we have. But fortunately it’s more than we get to keep on a roster,” McDaniel said, later adding “You learn a lot about your team based on where the 2 and 3s are at.”
It’s unclear how long Aaron Brewer, the Dolphins starting center who injured his snapping hand during Wednesday’s practice, will be out. McDaniel recently indicated Brewer’s hand is “week-to-week.”
“Most of the time you are not fortunate enough to [avoid] health-related issues on the offensive line for a whole season, so it’s better to have this scenario now than for the first time in Week 10,” McDaniel said after Friday’s win 20-13 win against the Atlanta Falcons. “You’d prefer not to have it at all, but that’s not always reality.”
For a team that started 14 different offensive line combinations in 2023, the second-highest total in the NFL, and is already without left guard Isaiah Wynn, the need for guys to step up is clear.
“Your actions speak so loud,” Driscoll said. “At the end of the day, I don’t need to come in and say a lot. I’m new; I’m not a big rah-rah type guy.’ I’m just going to show up, be where I’m supposed to be, work hard, really try to get the D-line better and get guys’ respect that way.”
Added Cotton: “When Butch first got here, one thing that he said that kind of stuck with me was ‘chop wood, carry water.’ We just do the best we can — chop wood — and if stuff isn’t going right, we carry water. Water is light when it ain’t got nothing that it’s holding on to.”
This story was originally published August 12, 2024 at 2:36 PM.
